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#2 Worst - Lionel Messi
With Cristiano Ronaldo once again making the difference for Portugal with a match-winning strike, the onus was well and truly on Messi to step up and riposte his great rival. But he remained subdued like he did in the opener against Iceland.
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A few buccaneering runs around the edge of the area and nutmegs aside, the Barcelona ace didn't test the Croatian backline enough, who boxed him up every time he tried to foray into the final third. His 20 touches in the first-half were the second lowest by an Argentinian player and it took him 64 minutes to muster his first and the only shot of the game. And even that was expertly thwarted with a well-timed block by his Barcelona colleague Rakitic.
Blame Sampaoli's bewildering tactics or laud Croatia for their stubbornness at the back, either way, Messi was highly disappointing and his sombre expressions at fulltime could say it all.
